Some killers are caught. Others simply go into hiding…
DCI Liam Brodie is no stranger to horror. Seven years ago, he led the hunt for a murderer who killed seven women, leaving their bodies out on display like some kind of morbid exhibition. Never any witnesses; never any clue as to who he was. The press called him The Embalmer. Brodie called him a monster.
Now, seven years later, the killings have started again. Same method. Same pattern. Same nightmare. Brodie is called back to Fife to lead the investigation. But this time, the killer isn’t just repeating the past—he’s rewriting it. And Brodie isn’t just hunting a serial killer… He’s being hunted.
Originally from Edinburgh, I moved to NY in 2006 with my wife – who is American – and my two daughters, who were 10 and 7 at the time. I met Debbie, my second wife, online in 2001. My daughters are from my first marriage, and Debbie has an adult son. I have been writing for a long time, writing my first crime novel in 1997.
After being taken on by an agency in 2012, the agent then abruptly left the agency in 2013. A year later, in November 2014 I decided to self publish my books.
I started with the DI Frank Miller series, followed by DCI Harry McNeil and DCI Sean Bracken. I decided on writing DCI James Craig and have him move from London to Fife. I have also written two Calvin Stewart books (from the McNeil series) and four US – based thrillers.
Social Media Links – Facebook: @johncarsonbooks Twitter: @JCarsonAuthor Instagram: @johncarsonauthor Newsletter Bookbub profile: @JohnCarson
My thoughts: The twist in this book is *chef’s kiss*, you honestly won’t see it coming, it’s so cleverly done. And now you’ll be trying to guess, but no spoilers.
This is a cracking case, a supposedly dormant killer has started again, leaving dead women on the beach, but were they ever truly dormant? Or did they just kill elsewhere? As Brodie and his team dig into the case, both the new victims and the old, they put themselves in harm’s way, the killer is watching their every move.
Gripping, enjoyable and fiendish, this was truly a great crime read.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
Divorce can be murder . . . and divorce lawyers can get murdered.
I’m Kim DeLuca – assistant to Ollie Spalding, Connecticut’s most successful divorce lawyer. I’m the one who keeps his empire running while he charms his way through every courtroom in the state.
Ollie isn’t just my boss. I was a foster kid – he’s the closest thing I’ve ever had to family. My mentor. My protector. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for him. He’s also the most feared divorce lawyer in the state. He took on people with money, power – and tempers that scared even the police.
Now he’s dead. And the police want to know who his enemies are. He had more than I can count. But I’ll find out who killed him.
Perfect for fans of Freida McFadden, Daniel Hurst, T.M. Logan, Patricia MacDonald and Shari Lapena
McGarvey studied voice at Manhattan School of Music and was later a theatre major in college. She pursued an acting career but later moved into a magazine and digital media career.
During that time, she sold advertising and managed sales teams for companies like Conde Nast, WebMD and worked for brands including GQ, Travel + Leisure, and Allure.
In between, she took a year off and backpacked alone around the world. Later, after having two children, she left media and became an executive recruiter for internet companies. In 2017, she began writing full time and has since published six novels.
My thoughts: When her boss, Ollie, is murdered Kim determines to help the police find his killer. At first she thinks that it could be the angry former spouses of one of their clients, Ollie was considered one of the best divorce lawyers in the state, and several of the unhappy parties have made threats.
As the police and Kim dig into the lives and connections of these threatening men (and women, but they seem to lack the wealth and connections needed), they narrow it down to two possibilities.
But as always the police must look closer to home as well, Ollie had two adult children and a younger wife. She has inherited a fortune, a fortune that just might be worth killing for….
Can Kim and the detective, Fitz, find out who killed Ollie and devastated his family, as well as Kim? Or will there be more victims?
Clever, with a huge twist, and some others along the way, I was hooked and couldn’t put it down. You will be too!
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
A MYSTERIOUS OFFER When Thea deciphers a cryptic invitation, she can’t believe it’s real. Yet the next moment she’s on a jet, being whisked off to a private Caribbean island.
BUT THIS IS NO ORDINARY HOLIDAY Her fellow guests are richer than rich – billionaires, tech bros, even royalty; all in paradise to sign a global deal. So what is Thea doing here?
THERE IS NO ESCAPE By the morning, their host is dead – and so is any hope of getting off the island.
NO GETAWAY As guests are picked off one by one, the group’s suspicions turn on Thea.
ONLY A FIGHT FOR SURVIVAL But the killer isn’t the only threat on the island – and escape means facing her worst fears . . .
My thoughts: Summoned to a deserted island, Thea is at a loss as to why she, a defence barrister, is there. The other guests include a minor royal, her MP husband, several entrepreneurs and billionaires, a pop star, a supermodel and a journalist. Her husband seems to be involved with their host Olga, and that really throws Thea, who invites their lover’s wife to their super secret summit?
Unfortunately things go from bad to worse when Olga is found drowned in the swimming pool the next morning. Their phones were confiscated on arrival, the WiFi is off, the staff have been sent away, there’s no way off the island and no way to call for help.
As the group squabble and try to work out which one of them is a killer, the situation continues to deteriorate. Thea tries to be rational, but the things really aren’t. Someone there is a murderer, there’s a hungry panther roaming the island (big cats do not make good pets) and then more bodies show up violently murdered. Can she survive the weekend? Can any of them? Will help ever arrive? And why did Olga invite them all there?
Clever, funny (if you’re a bit dark and twisted like me), but with an interesting point to make, this was a really enjoyable, smart read from a writer whose previous books I really like.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
Exhausted new mother Lucy is rushing her baby to hospital. Distracted by her sick child, she loses control of the car, and hits Roger, her elderly neighbor.
Terrified of being sent to prison and separated from her infant son, she makes a split-second decision and flees the scene. Her boyfriend Ian realizes what she has done and helps her cover it up. Lucy is incredibly grateful, until she begins to understand that his kindness comes at a price.
Small favors become demands. Demands become threats.
The bargain she has made is clear. If Lucy doesn’t do everything Ian wants, he’ll go to the police and she’ll go to jail, losing access to her child.
Meanwhile, Roger’s wife Mary is circling closer to the truth and the police start asking questions. Lucy’s world has become a suffocating prison with no hope of escape.
JJ Burgess has a degree in Economics and lives in Bristol with his wife and two sons. By day he is the Director of a greetings card company, by night he writes psychological thrillers that ask questions about the world we live in. When he isn’t writing, he is usually running through the woods around Bristol, thinking of new characters and dark plots.
My thoughts: Lucy makes a split second, terrible decision with her baby son in the car. She can’t bear the thought of being separated from him ever. So she tells a lie and let’s her neighbour die on the side of the road. Unfortunately she confesses to her slimy boyfriend Ian, who turns out to be genuinely awful. He manipulates her, threatens her, abuses her and uses her fear against her.
But Mary, the kindly neighbour whose husband was Lucy’s victim, is asking questions and she doesn’t like Ian. She sees through him and wants to help Lucy.
As the story twists and turns and Lucy’s life gets worse and worse, her plans to flee with her son going nowhere, a virtual prisoner in her home, can Mary do anything to help her?
Clever, gripping and with a really unpleasant antagonist (ergh, Ian, so gross) you’re rooting for Lucy and Mary all the way through.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
Julia loves donning her gardening gloves for the first blooms of spring. But when out working in the local wildflower meadow, she does not expect to find a dead body…!
Spring has come to Berrywick, and Julia Bird is determined to enjoy the fine weather. But not all life is in flower when she stumbles across the body of building expert Basil Crow next to a bright yellow digger. And Julia believes this is no accident.
Julia’s suspicions are confirmed when forensics report a brutal blow to the head. Julia soon learns from pie shop owner, and Basil’s first wife Delilah, that he was not widely liked and left behind three failed marriages. Could one of his ex-wives have wanted revenge? Julia’s friend Tabitha was in a neighbourly dispute with him after he blocked her car in her driveway. But is this motive enough to kill?
Then local choir singer Esmeralda is found dead in the woods. The police think the murders are unconnected. Unlike Basil, Esmeralda was a well-loved soul. Who would want her dead? Digging for clues, Julia realises that both victims had a link to the proposed redevelopment of the meadow Basil was found in. But would someone really kill to save it? Can Julia find the murderer before someone else is pushing up the daisies?
A page-turning and totally charming cozy mystery set in the English countryside. Fans of M.C. Beaton, Faith Martin and Betty Rowlands will love the Julia Bird Mysteries!
Katie Gayle is the writing partnership of best-selling South African writers, Kate Sidley and Gail Schimmel. Kate and Gail have, between them, written over ten books of various genres, but with Katie Gayle, they both make their debut in the cozy mystery genre. Both Gail and Kate live in Johannesburg, with husbands, children, dogs and cats. Unlike their sleuth Epiphany Bloom, neither of them have ever stolen a cat from the vet.
My thoughts: Dog walker finds body, and once again it’s Julia Bird! This time she’s stumbled across the body of local council planning officer Basil, and it turns out there are plenty of people who might have a motive to kill him, including Julia’s librarian friend Tabitha, and it isn’t for defacing library books!
As the police threaten to stop Tabitha heading to Ghana for a family wedding, Julia goes into detective mode, determined to find the culprit and prove Tabitha’s innocence.
Could the develop of a local beauty spot, popular with picnickers and dog walkers, be the reason Basil, and his colleague Esmerelda, have met sad ends in the open air? Well, the only way to find out is to read the book!
It’s another entertaining installment of Julia’s misadventures, and as well as the murders, things could be moving to the next level with Sean and there’s changes ahead for one of the charity shop crew too.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour,but all opinions remain my own.
Icelandic detective-in-training Sigurdís is studying criminal psychology in the US, but her plans are thrown into disarray when she discovers that her boss and mentor, Garðar, has been fired from Reykjavík CID over his investigation into Sigurdís’s father’s death.
Returning to Iceland to deal with the fallout, Sigurdís finds herself pulled into a disturbing case: controversial TV personality Olga Einars has been stabbed to death during the Reykjavík Marathon. Struggling to locate a runner waring the number 1407, who was seen near the murdered woman during the race, the police soon discover that several masked runners were wearing the same number.
As the mystery deepens, Sigurdís and her fellow detective Unnar soon learn exactly how unpopular Olga was – not just with the interviewees she humiliated on live TV, but with her own son, her business partner, a widower who insists that she had a hand in his wife’s death, and her ex-husband, who died in suspicious circumstances thirty years ago…
As her exploration into Olga’s past becomes ever darker and more harrowing, Sigurdís must also face the truth about her own father, while searching for an attacker who will go to any lengths to cover up their crimes…
Katrín Júlíusdóttir is a former Icelandic politician, elected in 2003 and serving as Minister of Industry, Energy and Tourism, Minister of Finance and Economy and Social Democratic Alliance’s vice-chair until she retired from politics in 2016.
Before she was elected to parliament, Katrín was an advisor and project manager at a tech company and a senior buyer and CEO in the retail sector, as well as the managing director of a student union at Reykjavík University, where she studied anthropology and received an MBA. She is now managing director of Finance Iceland.
Katrín won the Blackbird Award for best Icelandic crime debut for her first novel, Dead Sweet, in 2020, and it received immense critical acclaim, hitting the bestseller lists shortly after publication. In the UK, it was a Booksellers Circle Book of the Month and longlisted for the Waterstones Debut Novel Prize, debuting at No. 15 on the Sunday Times bestseller list.
Katrín was raised in Kópavogur, about fifteen minutes’ drive from downtown Reykjavík, and she now lives in the neighbouring town of Garðabær with her family. She is married to author Bjarni M. Bjarnason, who encouraged her to start writing, and they have four sons.
From two-million-selling author Steena Holmes, nine dark and gripping stories featuring Detective Meri Amber.
Nine missing girls. Nine cases the world wants to forget. One detective who never will.
Each file is someone’s daughter. Someone’s sister. And if Meri Amber can’t bring them home, she’ll make sure their stories end with justice.
As the FBI’s leading child abduction specialist, Meri has spent her career chasing the vanished – from Minnesota to Montana, from abandoned barns to dark cellars that still echo with screams. But every case cuts deeper than the last.
“I’m Detective Meri Amber. I’ve been searching for my sister for twenty years. Every missing girl is a mirror. Every scream behind a wall could be hers. I’ll never stop looking. These are the stories of the girls I’ve found, the truths I’ve uncovered, and the cracks in my own past I can’t seem to seal.”
From the horrifying secrets of the House of Dolls, to a macabre twelfth birthday party, to the sinister truths buried in the Widow’s Barn: delve into nine intriguing mysteries which will chill you to the bone.
NINE NAIL-BITING STORIES FULL OF SHOCKING TWISTS BY A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR.
With 2 million copies of her titles sold world wide, Steena Holmes was named in the Top 20 Women Author to read in 2015 by Good Housekeeping. She continues to write books that deal with issues that touch parents heart, whether it is through her contemporary fiction or psychological suspense novels.
My thoughts: Over nine cases Meri Amber looks for missing girls, girls like her sister, who she still wants to find, even if she can’t save her. She’s building a case, missing girl by missing girl, tracking evil across the country.
Sometimes she can help a vulnerable young woman, sometimes all she can do is ensure they aren’t forgotten, that any family they might have gets answers.
The stories are shocking, dark and sinister, there’s no happy endings here. There’s a narrative running through the nine stories, as Meri and her colleagues try to get justice, and stop the men who exploit, kidnap, abuse and kill.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
Economic systems rarely collapse without warning. Stockbroken by Billy and Jan Hemby centers on a market veteran who begins recognizing subtle signals that suggest a much larger financial event may be approaching. Bo Parrott has spent forty years studying how financial markets behave during periods of both growth and instability. His career as an investment advisor has taught him to pay attention to the small indicators that others often overlook. When new patterns begin appearing in market data, Bo quickly realizes they resemble the early stages of past economic crises. His growing concern intensifies when a sudden death draws him into the sphere of influential figures with significant control over financial systems. The deeper he looks, the more it appears that a coordinated effort may be underway to manipulate economic conditions for enormous profit. As Bo continues piecing together the evidence, the situation becomes increasingly dangerous. Speaking publicly about what he has discovered could disrupt the plans of powerful individuals who are prepared to do whatever is necessary to keep those plans hidden.
Billy Hemby is a managing director with Level Four Financial, a division of CRI Advisors, PLLC, and has over thirty years of experience in the financial services business. With multiple books in publication, Jan Hemby is an award-winning fiction novelist and a regional featured speaker. The two are native North Carolinians with deep roots in Southern culture. Their goal is to bring to life money dynamics, global events, and local culture in story form that engages both experienced investment enthusiasts and casual readers alike. Visit them at their website.
Chapter One
From his office in the lower Manhattan financial district just a few blocks from Wall Street, Bo Parrott stared in disbelief as his phone rang . . . again.
With decades of experience as an investment advisor, Bo was no stranger to the long hours required to answer the barrage of client calls that defined his workday. The call volume typically increased whenever the storm clouds began to gather, signaling a stock market downturn. He was no stranger to that, either. But today it felt different. The phone had been ringing nonstop since he stepped through the door two hours earlier.
“What the hell is going on, Parrott? Did you see this coming?”
Bo recognized the voice as belonging to a client known for his strong personality yet weak command of genteel discourse. Howard Lanning may never have gotten a stomach ulcer, but he was more than capable of giving one to someone else. Bo studied the report streaming across his screen. Despite Howard’s abrupt delivery, his words echoed Bo’s own concerns.
“I’ll find out, and I’ll call you back as soon as I can.”
Spencer T. Barnes, Bo’s young assistant, sat across from Bo’s desk. “Howard Lanning?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
Bo nodded. “Yes, but he’s not the only one. Our client base comprises a significant percentage of savvy investors, and many of them have caught wind of a potential shift in the stock market that could negatively impact their earnings. With over three thousand clients worldwide, that’s a lot of phone calls! They’ve been pouring in all morning.”
Bo powered up his laptop. Despite feeling unsettled about the possible rate hike from the Federal Reserve, he managed to smile as the charts began to populate his computer screen. He asked Spencer to move his chair closer for a better view.
“The indicators really are something to behold, especially when you consider what they represent. The lines are like a kaleidoscope with a panoramic effect and a beauty all their own.”
Realizing how that last statement may have sounded, Bo quickly backtracked as he darted his eyes in Spencer’s direction. “If you like that sort of beauty.”
Twenty-five years Bo’s junior, Spencer chuckled as he ran his hand through his side-part haircut. A few streaks of brown blended with his golden mane. “It’s growing on me.”
Bo continued, “A seafoam-green background serves as the canvas for the market indicators. They appear like an artist applying dabs of paint squirted onto a palette board.”
Spencer leaned in closer as Bo pointed to several images on his computer screen. “Each colorful line tells a story. Some lines have more relevance at specific coordinates on the chart’s workspace, and some have less. At zenith moments, the chart system behaves like a supernova: Brightness increases when the star explodes and releases most of its mass. When the mood is right in the stock market, the drama is something to behold.”
“What about today?” Spencer asked.
“Today, the mood appears dark and foreboding. Figuratively speaking, this chart represents a network of capillaries that have burst. Blood is gushing profusely. Unless a tourniquet is applied soon, the victim could die.”
Spencer leaned back in his chair. “Wow, it’s one thing to see these stock market configuration indices in multicolor. It’s another to interpret what it all means.”
What’s a detail, theme, or clue in your book that most readers might miss on the first read—but you secretly hope someone notices?
The murder of Edmond Brockett by his wife, Regina, in a suspicious house fire which appears to have been started by a hitman on assignment from a primary villain in the story as a red herring.
When did this story or idea “click” into place for you—was there a single moment you knew you had to write it?
In the stock market crash of 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 crisis.
Which character or real-life person surprised you the most while writing this book, and why?
Antagonist Kathryn Romanov is multi-dimensional and groomed for world power inspired by global espionage.
If your book had a soundtrack, what three songs would be on it and what scenes or moments would they pair with?
Chapter 3, Return to North Carolina from New York: “In My Mind I’m Going to Carolina” by James Taylor.
Chapter 40, The death of Selby: “Sky Full of Stars” by Coldplay
Chapter 53, Bo’s Retirement: “Feeling Good” by Michael Buble
What’s one belief, question, or emotional truth you hope readers carry with them long after they finish your book?
To find out the truth in a matter, follow the money trail.
Tell us about a moment during the writing process when the story (or message) took an unexpected turn.
An initiative to ignite global unrest blows up to destroy the dark consortium that originated the scheme.
If your protagonist (or the central figure in your nonfiction) could give the reader one piece of advice, what would it be?
Lessons learned from history could prove invaluable…and the high cost of forgetting those lessons could prove disastrous.
What real-world place, object, or memory helped shape a key element in your book?
The stock market crash of 1929.
What’s something you had to research, learn, or experience to write this book that genuinely shocked you?
The parallel between current market and economic events and those of the Roaring 20s is somewhat shocking.
If your book were invited to join a shelf with three other titles, which ones would make you happiest—and what would that shelf say about your story?
The Big Short, 1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History, and The Great Gatsby. That shelf would say that the book appeals to market enthusiasts, American history buffs, and readers of the classics and love stories.
Expert on body language and memory, and consultant to the Oslo Police, psychologist Kari Voss sleepwalks through her days, and, by night, continues the devastating search for her young son, who disappeared on his birthday, seven years earlier.
Still grieving for her dead husband, and trying to pull together the pieces of her life, she is thrust into a shocking local investigation, when two teenage girls are violently murdered in a family summer home in the nearby village of Son. When a friend of the victims is charged with the barbaric killings, it seems the case is closed, but Kari is not convinced. Using her skills and working on instinct, she conducts her own enquiries, leading her to multiple suspects, including people who knew the dead girls well…
With the help of Chief Constable Ramona Norum, she discovers that no one – including the victims – are what they seem. And that there is a dark secret at the heart of Son village that could have implications not just for her own son’s disappearance, but Kari’s own life, too…
Known as the Queen of French Noir, Johana Gustawsson is one of France’s most highly regarded, award-winning authors, recipient of the prestigious Cultura Ligue de l`Imaginaire Award for her historical thriller Yule Island. Number-one bestselling books include Block 46, Keeper, Blood Song and The Bleeding. Johana lives in Sweden with her family.
A former journalist, Thomas Enger is the number-one bestselling author of the Henning Juul series and, with co-author Jørn Lier Horst, the international bestselling Blix & Ramm series. One of the biggest proponents of the Nordic Noir genre, his books have been translated into twenty-eight languages. He lives in Oslo.
My thoughts: I knew from the authors that this was going to be good, gripping and shocking. There are lots of different sons in this book, from Kari’s, missing for seven years, to the suspect, whose parents don’t seem remotely interested in him, as friends and other connected people.
The town where two teenage girls are brutally murdered is called Son, it’s quiet, not many full time residents, and they’re planning a Halloween party, but someone decides to stop them from ever having a good time. The police arrest an acquaintance of theirs, who admits to being in the house, having been invited to bring over some drugs, but says he’s innocent. The detectives don’t believe him. Kari does. She analyses his body language, those nonverbal clues that say a lot more than words.
So she starts digging. Digging into the lives of the two victims, into the lives of their families and friends. She learns a lot of secrets – affairs, money troubles, blackmail. But are any of them bad enough to kill over? Or is it something she can’t even yet guess at?
This is a real page turner – each revelation and twist kept me hooked. Kari is an interesting character, she goes against her police colleagues, determined that the science proves she’s right and that somewhere in all the evidence she uncovers, will be the answer, the reason why two young women were brutally killed. And in helping the suspect, her lost son’s best friend, maybe she can find some peace too.
*this is a repost from last year’s hardback tour, when I was provided with a copy of the book, but as always, all opinions remain my own.
She’s the woman of his dreams. He’s the monster from her nightmares.
When Daniella rescues elderly Peggy from a mugger on a Boston street, she expects nothing in return. But then she meets Peggy’s son, Lucas—devastatingly handsome and utterly captivating. Unlike her distant husband Grant, Lucas sees her. Wants her.
Daniella can’t resist and they spend one reckless night together which she immediately regrets.
Too late, because Lucas doesn’t just want Daniella. He needs her. And he’s willing to destroy everything—and everyone—standing in his way.
Lucas plays the long game, worming his way into Daniella’s life—befriending Grant, charming her twin daughters, inveigling his way into her family. Every time she turns around, he seems to be there.
As the depths of his obsession become clear, Daniella realizes she’s in a fight for her life. Because the family she tried to help is hiding something dark. Something deadly.
And she’s already in too deep to escape.
Don’t Answer the Phone – the chilling psychological thriller from the best-selling author of One Little Mistake and The Visitors.
Miranda Rijks is a writer of fast-paced, twisty psychological thrillers many of which have been Amazon bestsellers. She has an eclectic background ranging from law to running a garden centre. After surviving bone cancer, Miranda turned to writing and is now living the dream, writing suspense novels full time. She lives in West Sussex, England with her Dutch husband and two black Labradors and spends as much time as she can in the Swiss Alps.
My thoughts: Daniella helps an older woman who was being mugged. Peggy is very grateful and the two women become friends. Unfortunately this brings Daniella, a married mother of twins, to the attentions of Peggy’s son, Lucas. He’s obsessive, violent and likes to get his own way. He decides that Daniella is the one for him, and won’t let anyone – his mother, her husband, get in his way.
His campaign to win over Daniella starts well, but as she rejects him, he turns violent. But not towards her. He believes that he can still convince her to be his. Things get nastier, more violent, Daniella becomes a victim too.
There are plenty of red flags in Lucas’ behaviour, and Daniella certainly spots some of them. He’s scarily obsessive, the death of his former girlfriend worries her, other incidents make things worse. The story is gripping and full of sudden twists and turns, Daniella and her family are put into danger, and things change for them forever.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
ramblingmads 